Oral hygiene, which is nothing but keeping the mouth and teeth clean, is very vital not just to prevent bad breath and other dental problems but to avoid chronic mouth and facial pain, oral sores, throat cancer, tooth decay and loss, birth defects such as cleft lip and palate, and periodontal (gum) disease (as per WHO). Dentists say oral care starts at home, which means proper brushing and flossing are the first step towards taking care of tooth. No one like to go through the pain of dental drill and so preventing cavities are vital to stay away from such painful experiences.

So, how to prevent cavities? It's simple, remove plaque via proper brushing twice a day. Not just preventing cavities, brushing also helps in stimulating the gum and make it healthy. When we talk about brushing then toothpaste can't be skipped, there are various ingredients go into it, say detergents, abrasives, and foaming agents but fluoride is the main ingredient that best aid in keeping cavities at bay. So,while buying toothpaste see to that it contains fluoride.

If you puzzle what is plaque, it is nothing but a transparent layer of bacteria on the teeth. When proper care is not taken to clean plaque it leads to tartar, which is its hardened stage. Tartar can cause more harm and removing it is quite complicated, like using of exclusive anti-tartar toothpaste and mouthwash twice a day spending extra time for brushing. When you experience sensitivity in any of your tooth then it indicates time to use a special toothpaste. If it doesn't help then visit a dentist to avoid further complications.

Since we talked so much about the importance of brushing now lets check out few useful tips of proper brushing. When you hold your oral brush make sure that it is in 45-degree angle against your gumline. Brushing should start from the where tooth meet the gum and recede towards the chewing area. Don't brush for more than 2 minutes and also avoid brushing hard as it may result in sensitivity and loose teeth. For cleaning the inner surface of your teeth and gum hold your brush vertically.

To remove plaque and food particles between your teeth brushing alone is not enough, flossing only can help you with this. While choosing floss make sure it is in accordance with the space in between your teeth, for safer side go for unwaxed floss as it can slide through easily even in small space.